Block heaters work better in mild conditions

I sometimes wish I was more skilled with my hands and had the ability to manuafacture things because every now and again I get an idea of a product the world needs, but I lack the skill to make it happen. For example, the time has come to build a better block heater cord. It seems like every year when the really cold weather comes (-30 or colder) my block heater cord breaks. Now the idea of block heater is to keep the oil warmish in the engine block in brutally cold weather; does it make sense that this cord breaks so easily in cold weather? Absolutely not! Because of this technological failure, I have a big blue ice cube on my hands!

Now my choice is to get up early and run my vehicle so it can't freeze up or walk and wait until things warm up. It doesn't help that my pipes froze last weekend and I've been without running water since last Sunday; I can't wait for spring!